J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by Salski

Hi - Aldi stuff is OK & I use their running wear & have been happy with it. I bought a jacket & salopettes once for my little boy a few years ago & had to finish some of the stitching off & some of the velcro fasteners weren't stitched on very well. However, my little one was warm & dry all week (not sure how it would have stood up to wet conditions though). Friends bought it for their kids last year & the zip broke on the 7 yr olds jacket which was a major inconvenience.

Have a look at www.tchibo.co.uk they have ladies & children's ski wear on offer this week - mens will be soon. It's brilliant quality & very reasonably priced. Be quick though as they sell out of stuff. I've just received stuff for my 9 yr old & it's great. Also try TK Maxx & Decathlon.

It is Halloween - I think DevilWear is just trying to freak us all out :twisted: !!!!

We used to drive to Les Gets &, like Bandit, stop en route (in a Formule 1) to break the journey (2 families with 3 young children). The driving was always pleasant, scenic & relatively straightforward but are you sure it's the cheapest method of getting there? (I guess it depends on how many people are travelling). For our main holiday I now book flights, accommodation & a transfer all separately & for us that works best. (It does require spending a considerable amount of time on the internet though).

I went to La Plagne in March this year with a couple of friends for a short break. We booked cheap flights to Grenoble with Ryan Air, an apartment in Plagne 1800 through Expedia, & hired a car off the internet.

If driving there, you'll have to consider ferry costs, road tolls, fuel costs, snowchains, European insurance & breakdown cover, possible car park fees in resort & a hotel stop en route if you want to break the journey. If your budget is your main priority rather than your resort, you might be better looking for cheap flights to an airport not too far from some resorts (go to the 'Sking near Airports' section on this site) & taking things from there.

We always have to keep the price down & believe me, within reason, it can be done. (Interestingly I read yesterday that the average income of readers who buy one of the popular ski magazines is £69,000 :shock: Sadly I'm not in that league :(

Helen - I usually travel in warm casual gear & my ski jacket & wear that when going out in the evening. I can't bear the smell of cigarette smoke on my clothes so in the past haven't spent too much time in bars in my ski stuff - just a quick beer stop on the way home. However, as smoking bans become more widespread, this should improve the situation. Not sure what the current legislation is in other European countries - I'll check it out.

Whatever, I'm sure you'll manage with far less stuff than you think you'll need & I agree with everyone else - you can pretty much live in your ski gear for the duration! I agree with Ellistine .... evenings are for eating & sleeping. For me it would take a superhuman effort to drag myself back out into the cold :lol:

Hi Angela,I skied for a couple of days in La Plagne in March of this year & had the most fantastic time. However, I think there are other places you could go to where there is excellent skiing for beginners & you will have a much nicer time as a non-skier with a baby. The villages around La Plagne are purpose built & lack any real charm so I don't know how you would amuse yourself all day. Your husband won't want to ski down the same slope all day so you can watch him & I'm sure you'll get bored of that too.

I've been to Les Gets lots of times (short transfer from Geneva)& think somewhere like that would be a better bet. It's a lovely family orientated village with lots of different shops, an ice skating rink, cinema etc. & the tourist information office puts on street entertainers & various activities during the week. There is more here for a non-skier than in La Plagne. Apart from last season (poor snow) we've always been able to ski all the way back to the village so you could watch from there. There is a gondola which takes you to the main ski area at Les Chavannes and there are several cafe/bars here and plenty of easy skiing where you would be able to watch. There is a free 'petit train' which runs around the village all day & can transport you to the gondola up from the other side of the village to Mont-Chery, where again you could watch from the restaurant.

We've found that the British Alpine Ski School have always been excellent - your husband would quickly progress with them. Why don't you book some time with an instructor who might be able to help you overcome your fear & take you for a short ride on a chairlift? There is a small beginner area with a 'rolling carpet' to take you up the slope, then you can move on to a drag lift to get a little higher. I can't do Alton Towers but I can do chairlifts - they don't all travel very far off the ground! :?

If you send me a pm I can send you photos of both places which would give you an idea of the ski area & the viewing area. Good luck with your search & I'm sure you'll be given other ideas too.

Thanks for that Bandit & Trencher - certainly some food for thought. I'll do some more reading up & visit the ski show at the NEC in a couple of weeks time. I'd like to give women specific skis a go to just to see for myself how different they feel. I'll enjoy drawing up my 'wish list'!!

Hi - I usually ski for a couple of weeks each season & hire my skis in resort. In the past I've always been issued with unisex skis but was wondering if I should go for women specific skis this year? (I am female :lol: ). What advantages might I expect from them? I would class myself as an intermediate skier & ski mainly on piste, although each season I do like to push myself a little further outside my comfort zone. I'm 5'5" (165cm) and approx 9st 5lbs (60kg). I'd be interested to hear from anyone who's made the switch from unisex skis to women's ones to hear how you've found them. Thanks for your time.

Hi Andy

Have you used the mail order company www.tchibo.co.uk? They do all sorts of stuff, but have fantastic ski wear in their catalogue which should appear in a couple of months or so. It is really good quality & very reasonable. Most of the gear my family has is from them & we've all been really pleased with it.

My hubby & I just travel in walking boots which we use around the resort & my son (9) wears Decathlon snow boots which are brilliant (easy on & off) & not at all expensive. They do a wide range of ski wear too but the nearest one to you is probably Lakeside - not that near! As Ellistine has said - there's often some great stuff in TK Maxx.

I only take one pair of gloves & wear glove liners in them for extra warmth (approx £5 from Decathlon) - they also stop them smelling & can be washed every couple of days if necessary. For little ones, they make getting gloves on & off easier too. I do take spare gloves for my son because he always get them wet throwing snowballs, playing with icicles etc & wet gloves don't keep hands warm! Fleece "snoods" are good too - much easier than a scarf & good for filling the gaps on little ones between their jackets & ski helmet.

Good luck & happy shopping (if there is such a thing) :?